A Brief History of 1917: Russia's Year of Revolution [Paperback]

Roy Bainton (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Brief History of | Publication Date: January 11, 2005

Russia's Bolshevik Revolution began in 1917 and has remained a controversial political and academic battleground, fought over for almost a century. It has been demonized—its more sinister aspects used as an anti-Communist battering ram throughout the Cold War—and glorified, as exemplified by John Reed's classic Ten Days That Shook the World. Much has been written about the key figures—Lenin, Trotsky, Kerensky, and the rest—while the various political movements have been relentlessly analyzed. Yet there is another side to it, a more human story. What was life like for a peasant or a manual worker in Petrograd or Moscow in 1917? How much did a tram driver, his wife, or a common soldier know or understand about Bolshevism? What was the price of a loaf of bread or a pair of boots? Who kept the power stations running, the telephone exchanges, bakeries, farms, and hospitals working? These are just some of the details historian Roy Bainton brings to life, not through memoirs of politicians and philosophers, but in the memories of ordinary working people. As witnessed on the streets of Petrograd, Bainton brings us the indelible events of the most momentous year in Russian history.

Product Details

• Paperback: 512 pages
• Publisher: Running Press (January 11, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078671493X
• ISBN-13: 978-0786714933
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #967,829 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't Have Been Written in the Soviet Union, February 8, 2005

By 

John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief History of 1917: Russia's Year of Revolution (Paperback)

This is the kind of book that might be produced in any free country about almost any incident of interest. It's the memories and personal recollections of a large group of people.

In the Soviet Union such recollections had to match the party line from the time of the revolution (1917) until recently. That makes this a breakthrough book. The number of people old enough to remember what they were doing that year is rapidly shrinking.

Mr. Bainton visited Russia several times seeking people to interview. He was successful in finding a great many people to talk to him. Most were original observers, some were telling stories that had been told to them by parents or earlier relatives.

It's a very enlightening book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very refreshing synthesis of a Russian year that shook the world, August 30, 2007

By 

A. Fonteyne (Vlezenbeek Belgium) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief History of 1917: Russia's Year of Revolution (Paperback)

Roy Bainton is a British journalist. He wrote a short narrative history of the Russian revolution in 1917, an excellent introduction in a very fluid style. He focused on the experience of the people, great and small, who influenced or just lived through those momentous events (mostly in Saint-Petersburg, the capital city). 1917 was a year of great suffering for the Russian people. The " First revolution", in February, that put an end to the Old autocratic Empire, unleashed huge hopes for freedom. The October " coup" of the Bolscheviks, however, crushed these hopes for at least 70 years, and inaugurated unheard of barbarism in the name of ideology "for the good of the people".
Roy Bainton used a variety of "general" sources, but most importantly, because he meant to recreate the ambiance of the times, contemporary eyewitness accounts; he also traveled several times to Saint-Petersburg in 2000 to speak to people who either had been through the events (although at the time they were still very small children)or who told the author about their parents' experiences. That would not have been possible before the 1990's. This is the first book I read about the Russian revolution but I found its approach particularly refreshing.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you would wish to know about the Russian Revolution, October 3, 2006

By 

Barrie Chamberlain "Gar" (Kingston, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Brief History of 1917: Russia's Year of Revolution (Paperback)

Superbly researched and written in such a manner that the facts are easily digested and you might find it hard to put down. This is not dry history; Bainton provides the atmosphere to make it an exciting read.